Chatham Area Transit hires firm to handle fallout from Bacarra Mauldin termination

By Katie Nussbaum | Savannah Morning News | Published Feb. 23, 2021

Chatham Area Transit has enlisted the help of an Atlanta-based public relations and strategy firm to manage the fallout from last month’s abrupt termination of former CEO Bacarra Mauldin.

Detailed during Tuesday’s CAT authority board meeting, the agency has contracted with Ohio River South for $9,000 a month to provide crisis management services. The company will also provide other media services such as drafting press releases, responding to inbound requests for information and researching requests for information and public records.

The contract, which was posted online by the board’s Vice Chairman Clinton Edminster prior to the meeting, is for no less than six months. The initial contract is good for six months and gives CAT the option to renew as many times as they see fit.

After Edminster questioned the contract, interim CEO Valerie Ragland clarified that the services won’t be used unless they’re needed, so it’s possible that the contract will not meet the total six-month period, which would total $54,000. Ragland told the board that the organization has insurance that will cover that expense.

CAT is a taxpayer-funded agency and has communications specialists already on staff.

Under CAT policies Ragland can authorize up to $20,000 without the board’s approval. Anything exceeding that amount would be voted on by the board.

“We agreed to formulate a contract for up to a six-month period, but we have an understanding that if not necessary, we will not use it,” Ragland said.

“We don’t know how often we might need to use it, but we will not use it if not necessary.”

The organization had considered using Quest Corp. of America, a marketing and communications firm they have had on retainer since 2019, but didn’t feel like they or CAT’s in-house staff could handle the crisis management, Ragland said.

“This is an emergency procurement, not a standard contract, although we did provide two quotes to successfully go through the procurement process, which wasn’t necessary, but we did provide that,” she said.

Edminster likened the Ohio River South procurement to one made by Mauldin to retain the legal services of Jackson Lewis shortly after she was hired, a point that board member Tabitha Odell quickly disagreed with.

“Jackson Lewis was not an emergency procurement. We had (local firm) Bouhan Falligant on point, you didn’t need to go find another law firm that you paid 40 some odd thousand dollars over your $20,000 limit,” Odell said.

“It’s not the same. Now, if we had not had Bouhan Falligant as our attorneys, you could call that an emergency.”

Mention of Mauldin’s hiring of Jackson Lewis is relevant because of the former CEO’s whistleblower lawsuit filed earlier this month.Mauldin maintains the incident violated procurement rules and contributed to her dismissal.

Mauldin claims former CAT board Chairman Jay Jones gave her the green light to procure services to address the COVID-19 crisis from Jackson Lewis because there was no contract on file for legal services. Bouhan Falligant had been providing legal services without a contract.

In a November email to the board, Mauldin stated that she believed CAT ‘urgently needed legal guidance and a firm that was well versed in both transit law and the latest COVID-19 legal landscape.

Jones confirmed his signoff of Jackson Lewis in an emailed response the next day.

Later CAT put out a request for proposals for legal services. Jackson Lewis ranked as the first choice and Bouhan Falligant the fourth. The board opted to award the services to Bouhan Falligant in a 5-3 vote during the Nov. 17 meeting.

Jackson Lewis filed a protest the next day, which Mauldin later determined should be upheld. She also alleged that the board was violating both CAT and Federal Transit Administration rules by choosing Bouhan Falligant.

Mauldin has since filed the lawsuit alleging that her termination violates the Georgia Whistleblower Protection Act, O.C.G.A. § 45-1-4.

Toward the end of Tuesday’s meeting board member Michael O’Halloran asked that the board receive an official clarification on the legal services for CAT documented in the board minutes showing that they are no longer using Jackson Lewis. The request led to a contentious back and forth with board member and City of Savannah District 2 Alderman Detric Leggett.

“You should probably just move to adjourn and close it up, I don’t want to hear that,” said Leggett, who was one of three board members to vote against Mauldin’s termination.

O’Halloran responded, saying “I don’t care if you want to hear it, the staff should not be using Jackson Lewis. They’re billing us for December and January when they were not legally our counsel.”

Leggett shot back that it had been a good meeting until O’Halloran “opened his mouth,” which led Board Chair Deidrick Cody to call a point of order and proceed with closing the meeting.

Earlier in the meeting Ragland said things have been very challenging as she enters her fourth week as interim CEO.

“But I’m encouraged by the many calls, texts, email messages that I’ve been receiving from, not just support from the board, but the support of current and former employees, as well as members of the communities,” she said.

“They’ve helped me to keep my focus on what I was placed in this position to do, and that is to move CAT forward during this time. I know I’ve been associated with CAT for 34 years, and I know it is worth it to endure whatever I need to do to go through this.”